Get some Louisiana crawfish etouffee in your belly! It’s too easy and too delicious not to!
Crawfish étouffée is one of those quintessential Louisiana dishes. You can find it in fine dining restaurants, mom and pop restaurants, and in your neighbor’s house. It’s everywhere and it’s beloved.
Like most Louisiana dishes, crawfish étouffée can be really good or really bad. And to be honest, some of the worst that I’ve eaten is at fine dining restaurants and the best seems to be at someone’s house. Peasant food is best made by peasants, not fancy New York chefs, you know what I’m saying?
At its heart, veggies cooked down in a delicious red gravy, loaded with spices and crawfish. Simple, guys. But this is not something you’re just gonna whip for lunch. It takes a while, but it’s so worth the wait.
Don’t be afraid of the ingredient list either. I realize it seems long. And I’m looking at it now, it’s pretty damn long. But most of it is stuff you already have on hand or is very easy to get. There’s nothing special or weird. Serve over hot white rice or blackened fish – yum!
Before we get down to this, if you can, I beg you, find some Louisiana crawfish. If all you can find is that China crap, go for it, but try to seek out Louisiana crawfish. It’s just legit. (You can also sub shrimp in this if you don’t have access to crawfish, but make sure that’s wild from the Gulf too!)
Crawfish Etouffee
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 1 stalk celery with leaves attached, diced
- 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon jarred roux
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 roma tomatoes, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 stalk green onion, diced
- 1 pound crawfish, with fat
- water
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder if you can't find it, leave it out
- 1 bay leaf
- fresh, chopped parsley
- cajun seasoning to taste, I like Tony's
- cayenne to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- favorite hot sauce, to taste, optional
- cooked white rice, for serving
Instructions
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Heat your pot over medium heat. Throw in the stick of butter and let it melt. Add in the onion, bell pepper and celery. Saute about 20 minutes or until the veggies just start to caramelize.
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Once the veggies have begun to caramelize, add in a tablespoon of roux and tomato paste. Stir it about and let it work in the veggies for about 5 minutes.
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Add your chopped tomatoes, green onion, garlic and stir. Cook for about 10 minutes to let the tomatoes release some of their liquid.
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Add the crawfish to the mix and stir. Fill your crawfish bag 3/4 of the way up with water. Swish it about and get all that goodness in the water. Add to the pot.
Add your salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, chili powders, parsley, bay leaf, Tony's and hot sauce.
Stir to combine.
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Simmer the concoction for 10 minutes, remove the bay leaf. Continue to simmer until the sauce has a gravy consistency.
Remove from the heat and serve over fresh white rice or over blackened fish. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
You can use your favorite hot sauce in this for some heat. I love Chalula’s sweet habanero hot sauce. It’s not habanero hot, but it’s got some heat and it has a great sweetness to it.
I’m using jarred roux in this because I always have some on hand for odds and ends stuff. You can make your own if you want, but you don’t need much. For such a small amount, I find a jarred roux is just quicker.
Want to make chopping veggies a breeze? Get one of these veggie choppers! It’s easily one of my most favorite kitchen gadgets!
Want more Cajun food? Let’s face it, who doesn’t…
Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday, 457. Hope you are having a great week and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Yum! My husband would love your stuff! Thanks for sharing.